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Bosque Bill

Tse Bitai
Shiprock, NM

Don't know if Ship Rock actually qualifies for but I'm going to post it as such anyway.

In case you didn't know, it's a volcanic neck, remnant of an explosive volcanic eruption that occurred around 30 million years ago.

@bosquebill Almost anything qualifies as a good excuse to look at Shiprock. Best. Rock. Ever.

@bosquebill @akkana Considering Shiprock is a prominent landmark one can see for like a 60-70 mile radius, I think that qualifies it as a mountain. Nice photo!

@elaterite @akkana Thanks! It was early enough in the day that I didn't have to contend with dust or haze.

@bosquebill Indeed, dust and haze seems to often be a problem in the Four Corners region. I remember driving near Shiprock once when it was full on tumbleweed-mageddon. I tried to get a good photo but failed. Thousand upon thousands of tumbleweeds blowing down the road, pretty much right at my car. It was almost as if they were alive. @akkana

@bosquebill I tried and failed to track down an online version of Robert Ormes' account of his failed ascent. The photo of him hanging from a bent piton by a rope around his waist after taking a lead fall is wild enough. His deadpan account of the crazy aid climbing tactics that led up to the fall is on a whole other level.

@drdirtbag There is a brief section on him and climbing the rock here: tripsavvy.com/facts-about-ship

A fictitious ascent is the centerpiece of Tony Hillerman's "The Fallen Man." Probably won't appeal to you as a climber, but is one novel in his fantastic series of mysteries/police procedurals that take place on the Navajo Nation.

TripSavvyWhat Is the History of Ship Rock, a Sacred Navajo Peak in New Mexico?Ship Rock, a towering rock mountain in northwestern New Mexico, is sacred to the Navajo. Learn about its geology, mythology, and climbing history.

@bosquebill I'm pretty sure I haven't read "The Fallen Man," but I did read and enjoy a bunch of the Leaphorn and Chee novels growing up.

@drdirtbag They're still good—worth visiting again.

@bosquebill I found the Ormes article -- someone scanned it in and put it on Summitpost, along with an article on its climbing history. SP has sadly turned to ad-infested junk, but still has a lot of valuable information. summitpost.org/pioneering-ship

www.summitpost.orgPioneering Ship Rock : Articles : SummitPostPioneering Ship Rock : SummitPost.org : Climbing, hiking, mountaineering

@drdirtbag I'll check it out after I finish my chores.